Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Trey is now 22, and it has been a year since he’s been released from juvenile hall. He was sentenced to stay there until he turned 21. He believes he has completely reformed. He was taken in by his grandparents and has been living with them until now. Just a week ago, their house was broken into by presumably burglars and Trey’s grandparents were severely beaten. His grandmother didn’t make it, while his grandfather is in critical condition. The doctors believe he doesn’t have much longer.

TREY

Pa?

MCCOY

Come in, come in

TREY

You look…

MCCOY

Ah, you can say it. Not so good. Old. Five minutes away from becoming a corpse.

TREY

No, no, I… how are you?

MCCOY

Alright. Come in, come in. take this chair here.

(Trey takes a seat in the chair next to his bed. There’s a long silence before he puts his head into his hands)

TREY

I shouldn’t have gone out with Trevor, I shouldn’t have, especially to just go and drink

MCCOY

No, no don’t start

TREY

Then Nona would still be here (pause) you guys are all that I have

MCCOY

Come on, stop it. How do you think I feel? I couldn’t even protect her. My hands, they used to pick brick by brick and build walls. Now, as you can see, they are useless. Useless to help my wife

TREY

Pa…

MCCOY

Trey, don’t worry about a roof over your head after I’m gone…

TREY

No, no Pa I don’t care…

MCCOY

Oh you’ll care when winter comes around. Don’t talk such nonsense. Our house is your house. And you better take care of it, okay? No parties, no girls, no loud music late at night (winks). And water Nona’s plants. She’d kill me if I didn’t remind you.

TREY

Okay Pa

MCCOY

Listen. Just be a good man Trey. I’ve seen the change, you’ve lived the change for a year now.

TREY

Okay Pa

MCCOY

I know the past is the past. What that man has, or whatever that thing was that attacked me and your Nona, is not inside of you.

TREY

Ok…

A nurse enters. Trey decides to leave the two alone and stands outside the hallway. He looks down at his phone and he sees that it’s his girlfriend of three months, Monica. She has arrived at the hospital.

MONICA

Where is he, is he okay?

TREY

Yes, yes… or at least I think so. Let’s talk outside.

MONICA

Outside? I want to see your grandfather.

TREY

He’s my grandfather. The nurse is with him anyways

MONICA

Allriiiight…

(They exit out the entrance)

MONICA

What’s going on?

TREY

I dunno

MONICA

Well do you think he’s going to make it?

TREY

I don’t know Monica. Stop asking.

MONICA

Well jeez, Trey, sorry for caring

TREY

Yea, just stop reminding me that he’s gonna be gone soon

MONICA

I wasn’t…

TREY

Yea you were. And he isn’t your grandfather. So stop acting like it.

Monica looks down, completely offended.

TREY

You just… it’s not your grandfather in there. To come home and to see... to see him, lying there… at the bottom of the couch, next to Nona… in her blood- God, you couldn’t even recognize her. With the life just stolen away from her. I thought, I thought he was gone with her too. In that second, I felt this incredible pain that had been building up, building up, building up since I walked through that door, until it washed away into this numbness... And I saw the two people that I had loved the most, the ones that… loved me, and would never hurt me…. I saw them lying there.

MONICA

Oh my god… Trent…

TREY

And, there was the chair… the back was completely broken off and one of the legs was covered in, in, it was this deep color. It was laying down right beside her, not even hidden, not even ashamed of what it had did. I stood before that, thinking, what’s left? What’s left? Is there anything in the world that I have anymore…

MONICA

But I’m here…

TREY

Yea and for you to walk into this. I can’t ask you to stay.

MONICA

But I will

TREY

You shouldn’t. It won’t get any better

MONICA

How do you know? How can you say this?

TREY

Because I’ve spent a lot of time alone. Thinking. A lot of time thinking alone. And during all that time, there wasn’t a day that I didn’t plan what I was going to do for them. How I’d be better for them

MONICA

But you are!

TREY

No, it’s too soon for you to tell. I already know that at least. I’ll admit, it look like I was starting to… heading in the right direction but…

MONICA

Don’t. Just shut up.

TREY

You don’t understand what it takes to create this something, this something inside of me. I thought the peace and silence of four years would be enough, just enough to kick it out. But it’s alive and well. And it’s only been saving its energy these past years, ready to really show me.

MONICA

I don’t understand Trey.

TREY

You’re not suppose to. You’re the lucky one. You’ve never had to see where I’ve been.